Newsletter

No surprise shocks

WHEN THE Savannah City Council discusses today buying Tasers for police officers, we hope they will consider more than just the purchase price.

Before these "electronic control devices" are acquired, council members should require from interim Police Chief Willie Lovett a Taser policy. The measure should outline when a Taser may be used, and the schedule upon which officers should be trained and update their training.

Taser supporters - such as Dale Mann, director of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center - tout the benefits of the nonlethal weapons. These include, according to Mr. Mann, a drop of 60 to 70 percent in injuries to officers and suspects, if all street officers are outfitted with Tasers.

Aside from officers not having to rely on firearms to subdue violent suspects, the police academy instructor noted that Tasers can cut short chases in which the law officer or the suspect might step in a hole or get clipped by a clothes line.

Who knows. Perhaps if former officer Antonio Taharka had been equipped with a Taser in 2007, he might not have resorted to his sidearm to stop a fleeing probation violator - saving the life of Anthony Smashum and avoiding Mr. Taharka's 2009 involuntary manslaughter conviction.

Mr. Mann's data is persuasive. Still, the stun guns have shortcomings. For instance, they may be used to zap suspects via two studs that protrude from the gun itself. But this type of use does not result in the large muscle group spasm that incapacitates a suspect. This type of use hurts - a lot - but it's only effective for pain compliance while a suspect is being shocked.

And a tough enough bad guy could fight through the pain. By comparison, the darts fired by a Taser knock a person off his feet long enough for officers to get handcuffs on the suspect.

Also, the Taser company sent out an update to its training materials in November of last year, advising officers not to aim for the upper chest in frontal shots, but instead for the lower abdomen. This was to reduce the risk of possible heart complications, while more effectively dropping the suspect.

Updates such as this are an important reason for periodic training updates for local officers.

We reiterate our support for annual Taser certification according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council regulations. Such recertification would have to be funded locally. But these costs will be a good investment if they help the department work smarter, reduce injuries and avoid shocking liability lawsuits.